Cattle-guard.



. PATENTED/MAY 21, 1907. T. ELLIS & J. 'FINNBLL.

' CATTLE GUARD. APPLIGA'TIQN {FILED 2113,1905. I

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UNITED sTA rns PATENT oFFIoE.

CATTLE- Specification of Letters Patent- GUARD.

Patented May 21, 1907.

Application filed September 13,1905. Serial No. 278,248.

To (ti/Z whom, it perry concern:

Be it known thatwe, THADDEUS ELLIS and JOHN FINNELL, citizens of the United States of America, residing at Tacoma, in the county of Pierce and. State of Washington, have invented certain new and useful Iniprovements in Cattle-Guards, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanyingdrawing.

This invention relates to cattle guards for railway tracks and has for its objects to pre vent the passage of cattle from a grade crossing to the right of way of the railway without injuring them; to allow at all times a perfectly free and open passage for trains, trucks, inspection cars, etc., traveling on the rails; and to allow the ties within the cattle guard to be thoroughly tamped at any time without taking up the cattle guard. We attain these objects by the devices illustrated in. the accompanying drawing in which,

Figure 1 is a plan of our cattle guard. Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-section thereof showing the guard made of wood. Fig. 3 is a similar view showing the guard. made of iron, and Fig. 4 is a view illustrating the action of the guard. when a cow attempts to cross over it.

Similar numerals of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

Our guard. consists of about six railroad.

ties properly spaced from each other and securely fastened in their positions, having plates hinged to them in such a manner that in their normal position their upper edges will be at about the level of the rail and they will point upward from the cattle guard toward the grade crossing, their lower edges being below the level of'the rail. The first set of plates are also provided with a forward extension. The spacing of the ties is such that a cow will not readily be able to step over the first set of plates without jumping, and therefore, the cow will usually either step between the first two ties, in which case she cannot reach over the front end of the first plate with her other foot, or she will step on the forward part of the first plate which will then fall forward and downward, as shown in Fig. 4, in which case the upturned end of the plate prevents her from stepping beyond the second tie. If, however, she should succeed in passing the first two ties with her front feet, they would be locked from forward motion by the front upper edge of the second plate and the lower rear edge of the first plate which would so engage her knee and heel that she could not pass forward, but at the same time she could readily withdraw her foot and back herself again to the grade crossing.

In the drawings, the rails 1 of the track are laid on the end ties 2 and the intermediate ties 3 of the cattle guard. The boards 4 are placed parallel with the rails at both ends of the ties and are secured to all the ties, thus forming a frame and keeping all gravel, etc., from interfering with the action of the cattle guard. The spacing blocks "5 are placed against the planks 4 and between the ties, being secured to the planks 4, thus keeping the ties in their proper rel ative positions.

On top of the end ties 2 are fastened the triangular blocks 6 having one angle uppermost at about the level of the top of the rail. Each tie 3 is provided with a pair of horizontal bearing surfaces 3, upon which rest rails 1. The horizontal surfaces 3 extend entirely across the ties 3. The upper, longitudinally-extending edges of each tie are beveled between the outer ends of the tie and the surfaces 3, and also beveled between said surfaces 3. It will, therefore, be seen that each tie 3 is provided with a plurality of horizontal rail-bearing surfaces 3 and with a series of portions, each portion having a pair of beveled edges 3, for the purpose hereinafter specified. Screwed into the tops of the ties are the eye-bolts 7 through which the rods or pipes 8 pass. The pipes 8 form the pivots for the plates of the cattle guard. In the form illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 in which the plates are made of wood, the plates 9 are secured to the rods 8 by means of side pieces 10 which are suitably secured to the plates 9; the pieces 10 constitute brackets upon the sides of plates 9, the brackets facilitating the attachment of the plates to the rods 8 and ties 3. In this form we prefer to construct the plates 9 themselves of two layers of wood placed with their grain running at right angles to each other, so that the plates will not be warped by heat or dampness. In the form shown in Figs. 3 and 4, in which the plates 11 are made of metal, we simply turn down the side edges of the plates to form brackets through which the rods 8 pass. In this formthe front set of plates 11 are slightly longer than the rest and their extensions 12 are bent forward as shown in Fig. 3. The corresponding extension 13 of the wooden plates 9 is made of metal and is secured to the front up er edge of plates 9 and is of practically t e same form as the extension 12 in Fig. 3.

It is to be noted that the beveled edges 3 of the ties 3 form bearings engaged by the brackets or vertical webs formed on the edges of the plates 9, when said plates are swung or tilted from one side to the other of the ties.

Having now described our invention, what we claim is,

1. In a cattle guard, the combination of a frame provided with a tie, rails positioned upon said tie, said tie provided with a pair of parallel, longitudinally extending beveled edges, a plate, and means pivotally securing said late to said tie near the middle thereof and etween said beveled edges, whereby said plate may be swung to engage and bear upon either of said beveled edges.

2. In a cattle guard, the combination of a frame provided with a tie, rails positioned upon said tie, said tie provided with pairs of beveled edges formed at opposite sides of each of said rails, eye-bolts secured to said tie between said beveled edges, plates positioned upon said tie, means pivotally securing said plate to said eye-bolts, whereby said plates may be swung to opposite sides of said tie and engage said beveled edges.

3. In a cattle guard, the combination of a frame provided with a tie, rails positioned 11 on said tie, said tie provided with beveled e ges formed upon op osite sides thereof, a plate provided with epending brackets at its ends, means pivotally connecting said brackets to said tie between said beveled edges, each bracket converging from its center in opposite directions to its outer edges, producing inclined bearing edges adapted to engage the beveled edges of said tie.

4. In a cattle guard, the combination of a frame, comprising a series of parallel ties, boards positioned at the ends of and connecting all of said ties, vertical spacing blocks positioned transversely of and secured between each two contiguous ties and against said boards, each tie provided with horizontal bearing surfaces extending entirely across its upper face, rails resting upon the bearing surfaces of said ties, each tie provided with a plurality of oppositely inclined beveled edges formed between the bearing surfaces and the ends of the tie, and a plurality of movable plates carried by each tie and adapted to engage said beveled edges.

5. In a cattle guard, the combination of a frame provided with a tie, rails positioned upon said tie, said tie provided with beveled edges formed upon opposite portions thereof, a guard member provided with reinforcing depending brackets near its ends, positioned upon said tie, means engaging said brackets and securing said guard member between said beveled edges, and said brackets adapted to engage some of said beveled edges when said guard member is swung to either side of the tie.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signature in presence of two witnesses.

THADDEUS ELLIS. JOHN FINNELL. Witnesses:

M. H. COREY, M. A. VAN HoUsE. 

